The Gun Counter

The place for general talk about gun, shooting, loading, camping, survival, and preparedness related tools and gear, as well as gear technology discussion, gear reviews, and gear specific "range reports" (all other types of gear should be on the back porch).

Thanks to this thread, I found an old kerosene lantern at a local auction and brought it home, thinking that I'd use it to light the patio project that I completed this summer. Yesterday I installed the bracket and lantern, and this evening I lit it to see how it would illuminate the patio.

I was surprised at how clean and gentle the light is, casting a fine ambiance on the patio, while not overpowering with glare like a Coleman lantern would do.

I think it casts a lovely glow, and now I need to find another for the far end of the patio.

I've never dealt with kerosene as a fuel before. Mainly white gas and propane. I have a little experience with gasoline stoves and lanterns as well as pressurized alcohol stoves. I decided to dip my toes and try a kerosene lantern. I checked out Hardwick's in the university district thinking they'd be as likely than anyone in town to carry such stuff. I wasn't disappointed.

They had one tube type lantern, a Deitz Air Pilot.

Deitz #8 Air Pilot.jpg

I bought it and a gallon of K-1 kerosene. I had to work out most of the functions myself because the provided directions are pretty rudimentary. After some research on the W.T. Kirkman website, I found that Klean-Heat kerosene subsitute is recommended for indoor use due to lower odor. Since both my G.F. and I are sensitive to strong scents, I went and picked some up at Home Depot. It makes a difference, but you can still tell that a kerosene appliance is being used in the room. I used it on a scout camping trip. It definitely isn't a substitute for a pressurized, mantle style lantern, but it illuminates a small area nicely, especially if it's dark. It's also silent and runs unattended for a long time.

I was visiting my grandmother a couple weeks later in Port Angeles. I had to pick up some items from Swain's, a local variety store. They had a few lanterns on clearance, six #10 Monarchs and a #20 Junior.

Deitz #10 Monarch.jpg

Deitz #20 Junior.jpg

I picked up one of each priced $15 minus 30%. I also got a couple of spare fuel caps, a small stainless funnel, and a spare globe which fit my Air Pilot.

I gave the Monarch to my girlfriend to use as an emergency light source or just for atmosphere. Since it is a hot blast lantern, it doesn't generate as much kerosene exhaust, but it is still noticeable. I took the other two lanterns on a trailer camping trip a couple weeks ago. I used them outside to mark the driveway of our site. This is what it looked like in the dark:

dark.jpg

and this is what it looked like with at f 5.6, 1 sec., ISO 1600:

exposed.jpg

They were sitting out for four days straight. I turned them down low at night and higher during daylight. The Air Pilot ran about 24 hours on a filling and the Junior ran about 12 hours.

I was visiting my grandma again last Sunday. I stopped in to Swain's to see if I could get another Monarch for myself. They had moved all lantern related stuff to the clearance aisle. There was one Monarch left and a D-Lite which wasn't there last time. I bought them and a spare globe which fits the D-Lite.

Deitz #90 D-Lite.jpg

The same day I stopped at a antique mall in Tacoma. This was the first time I'd visited one since I'd gotten in to lanterns. I was surprised at how many there were. Most were in poor shape and overpriced. I bought an old #100 Little Giant with a red globe for $25. It only needed a good cleaning and a fill up to run like a champ.

Deitz #100 Little Giant.jpg

Now I own six lanterns with five different globes. I think I'll stop for now, although I'm tempted to order a Comet from W.T. Kirkman just because they're so cute. It would probably be good to have some spare parts as well.

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The thing about lanterns is that they really aren't that expensive to collect, and they have made them for a hundred years. Theres no reason for old ones to be more expensive other than "but it's antique!"
Plus you get the enjoyment of using them, and they are great for preps.